1. Can someone please explain in plain English what you think the likely proper function of this retaining pin is? Is it as Arizoni said yesterday?

The shifting mechanism has a disc attached on top of a rotating slotted cam that moves the shifting forks back and forth that engage the gears together. The disc has four pins like the one you have in your hand. There is a Wide U-shaped hook that is attached to a bar that is pulled back and forth by the shifting levers engaged by the shift lever. As the U shaped hook goes back and forth, it pulls or pushes the appropriate pin to rotate the disk and cam which moves the forks.Pics attachedBare

Rich,If for no other reason, getting the warranty service on this will also determine whether the other pins are loose. If one already ended up in your sump, the odds are good you may find another next time. No point in letting it go for too long.

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Rather than have a homeless person for the holidays, I decided to stick with ham.

Happy to report I've just gone 185 mi in 3.5 hrs (NYC to White Marsh, Maryland via turnpike with no problems. Bike is running beautifully on the new oil. And if I'm not mistaken, I've seen a small improvement in MPG. Is that possible?